The ceramic oxygen generators disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,871,624 and 5,985,113, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into the instant specification, overcame many of the limitations inherent in previous approaches for electrochemical devices utilizing an oxygen-conducting electrolyte. The integral base described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,624 provided a simplified, low resistance method for electrical interconnection between individual electrochemical elements. The base 14 also enables the formation of a hermetic chamber, separating the atmospheres at the anodic and cathodic surfaces from each other, for a large number of individual elements with a single seal joining like materials. The disclosed arrangement, unlike planar stack configurations, has shown the ability to withstand internal pressures greater than 1200 psi at room temperature and to generate oxygen at over 45 psi outlet pressure. Such pressures are necessary for integration of ceramic oxygen generator systems (COGS) with pulse dosing and anesthesia devices for medical applications.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,871,624 and 5,985,113 disclose that the ceramic element also acted as the electrolyte. The support structure includes a base portion (also called a tube support portion in the '113 patent) and a plurality of tubes. The electrical efficiency of the design was limited by the thickness of the tubular walls of the ceramic element that could be formed by existing technologies such as powder injection molding.